The trucking event season has kicked off with the first Trucking Network Job Fair launching in March 2020. The Brampton job fair held at the Pearson Convention Centre was a major success even though the Covid-19 virus scare was ramping up. March has been a month turmoil with events shutting down or rescheduling and people worried about being in crowded locations. The Trucking Network handled things properly with lots of hand sanitizers on site and people learning new styles of greeting friends and strangers. In fact with the virus scare I was surprised to see people out at all but the event had good attendance. There were a few carriers that elected not to attend but for the most part the place was packed.

Cash, cash, cash is always popular with everyone and this time was no different. The draws were consistent with other events where The Trucking Network team gave away several cash prizes to attendees that registered for the event. In fact a friend that I saw when I first arrived won the first draw, but had left by the time they drew his name. This is just a reminder to everyone that you should know the time of the draws at any event and keep an eye on your phone if you happen to leave. It may be worth a return trip back to claim your prize.

It can be hard to cover an event for a podcast. People are busy looking for the right opportunity and booths are crowded with people asking questions and carrying on conversations. As media personnel you try not to get in the way, but at the same time you want to get interviews for both the organizer and our audience.

Normally I interview a number of carriers in the room but this event I was focused more on the drivers attending the event and what questions they had about the trucking industry. I managed to get some drivers to stop and talk with us about what they were looking for at the job fair. I would like to give a big shout out to Nick, Michelle, Adele, and my two driver friends, sorry I didn’t get your names. Nick was a new driver looking for any opportunity and I was impressed that he had his resumes printed and ready to go for anyone that wanted one. That was the way to prepare for a job fair. Michelle was looking for a dispatch position and had a background in logistics. Adele didn’t have a truck licence yet and was there to find out what jobs were available for women. My two friends were looking for long haul and local opportunities.

Bumping into friends are what I enjoy most about the job fairs and trucking events. I ran into Rob who is one of the organizers at the Clifford Truck Show and we talked about old trucks and his upcoming event. I made the rounds talking to friends of carriers I know about what they have to offer and the drivers they were looking to hire. The Rosedale team looked great in their matching hockey shirts and it was very fitting that during an interview with Recruiter Dale Senior a driver popped into the middle of the interview trying to get a job in order to get a shirt. This was shortly after the zamboni driver helped win the hockey game for the Hurricanes.

The Trucking Network job fairs are fun and you never know what you will come across. Drivers that interviewed with me got a small gift for their time, lucky winners won big cash, and all attendees had a great time. If you would like to listen to the interviews and carrier profiles from the event visit www.theleadpedalpodcast.com and search for The Trucking Network and it will bring up this and past events. What a great way to review carrier interviews and find out the flavour for the events. I hope to see you at future events in 2020.

About the Author
Bruce Outridge
Bruce Outridge has been in the trucking industry for over 30 years. He is a former driver, fleet supervisor, author of the books Running By The Mile and Driven to Drive, and producer and host of The Lead Pedal Podcast for Truck Drivers. You can listen and subscribe to the podcast at www.theleadpedalpodcast.com or on your favourite podcast platform.